The Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise is getting a new spin-off audio series starring several original cast members, including the return of James Marsters' rebellious vampire Spike as the main hero.
As reported by EW, Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans will soon have the chance to sink their teeth into a new adventure set 20 years after the epic final battle that concluded the original supernatural TV drama in 2003, as Slayers: A Buffyverse Story is now available to pre-order ahead of its premiere on October 12.
The audio original centres around Spike, with Marsters reprising the role alongside fellow cast members Charisma Carpenter, Anthony Head, Juliet Landau, Emma Caulfield Ford, Amber Benson, James Charles Leary, and Danny Strong, as well as newcomer Laya DeLeon Hayes playing rookie Slayer Indira Nunnally.
The original series' titular star, Sarah Michelle Gellar, is not involved in the project as the story takes place in an alternate universe where Buffy Summers does not exist. Instead, the drama will pick up with Spike working undercover in Los Angeles, where he meets feisty teen Indira, who asks him to be her mentor.
According to the synopsis, "stakes intensify as Cordelia Chase emerges from an alternate reality where she alone is the Slayer, and Buffy Summers doesn't exist. Cordelia enlists Spike's help with a classic big bad terrorizing her world… his ex, Drusilla," adding that, "Giles, Anya, Jonathan, and Tara also return, but through the years and the vastness of the multiverse, not everyone is who they used to be."
Speaking of his return to the Hellmouth, Marsters said: "I'm ecstatic to be back with my dear friends for this next chapter in the Buffyverse, as we take listeners on a familiar but unexpected journey chock full of horror, passion and mischief. I'm excited for old and new fans to experience this beloved world of vampire slaying like never before, brought to life through immersive audio storytelling."
Slayers: A Buffyverse Story is written by Amber Benson and Christopher Golden and directed by Benson, Golden, and Kc Wayland, spinning off from the original drama created by Joss Whedon. The show ran from 1997 to 2003, during a golden era of television, which saw Gellar battling vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness.
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.
